Bowman, SC, known as the Middleton Place - Summerville Seismic Zone (MPSSZ). The MPSSZ
seismicity appears to be occurring in two steeply dipping faults. The rst fault is the deeper, northeast-
trending Woodstock Fault and the second is the shallower, northwest-trending Ashley River Fault.
Recent seismic activity (November 2002; M=4.2 & 3.5) has also included an earthquake in the
Atlantic Ocean o- the coast of South Carolina.
Currently the MPSSZ experiences between
10 to 15 magnitude 3 or less events every
year. Large events, like the 1886 earthquake,
have been recorded in the oral history of the
area (~1600 and 13-1400's AD). Additionally,
paleoseismic investigations have shown
evidence for several pre-historic, liquefaction-
inducing earthquakes in coastal South
Carolina in the last 6000 years. If the present
is the key to the past, and the past is an
analog for the future, then the Charleston
region can expect to experience another
1886 magnitude event in the future.
(South Carolina Earthquake Education and Preparedness, College of Charleston.)
An Earthquake Today:
Results of a scientific study commissioned by the South Carolina Emergency Management
Division indicate that an earthquake today of similar intensity (7.3) and location to the one in
1886 could have the following results:
An estimated 45,000 casualties, of which approximately 9,000 (about 20 percent) would be
major injuries requiring hospitalization; fatalities would number about 900. A daytime event
would cause the highest number of casualties.
Nearly 70,000 households, or about 200,000 people, would be displaced, with an estimated
60,000 people requiring short-term shelter.
Total economic losses from damage to buildings, direct business interruption losses, and
damage to transportation and utility systems would exceed $20 billion. Direct economic losses
due to building damages (without the business interruption losses) are estimated to exceed
$14 billion. Transportation and utility systems' direct economic losses would exceed $1 billion.
About $10.9 billion in economic losses would occur in the tri-county area of Charleston,
Berkeley, and Dorchester. The building damages alone would cause more than $4.2 billion in
losses due to direct business interruption in the state. Loss estimates include rental income,
business income, wages, and relocation expenses.
More than 250 fires would burn, primarily in the tri-county area. The lack of operational
firefighting equipment and water due to the earthquake would be a major concern.
About 80 percent of urban households in the affected tri-county area would be deprived of
water. It would take weeks, if not months, to restore the water systems to normal operation.
Hospitals would likely suffer significant building damage that could result in up to 30 hospitals
out of the 108 (about 30 percent) being nonfunctional.